Improvement in pneumatic signals for railways



A... CHAMBERS..

Patent-ed Jan. 25, 41376.4

UNITED STATES PATENT AUSTIN CHAMBERS,v OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

lMPROVEMENT IN PN,EUMATICS!GNALS FOR RAILWAYS.`

Specitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,704, dated January25, 1876; application tiled October T8, 1875.

To all whom v"it may concern Be it known that I, AUSTIN CHAMBERS, ofLondom No. 258 Marylebone Road, in the county of Middlesex, Kingdom ot'Great Britain and Ireland, signal-engineer, have invented i certainImprovements in Pneumatic Signals for Railways, ot' which the followingis a specification: t

This invention has reference to signaling apparatus in which thesignalling objects or bodies are moved pneumatically, and has for itsobject to combine simplicity of construction with ease and rapidity ot'working, and toprecl'ude the assumption ofthe safety or pass-on positionby the signaling object or body in the event of breakage or failure ofintermediate parts of the apparatus.

To expedite the operation ot` moving over the lever or handle to thenecessary extent for changing the position of the signaling object orbody, I employ a compressor so constructed and connected with theactuating lever or handle as that by the .compression otl the elasticHuid, effected by moving over the `lever or handle, the resistance shallbe overcome of a portion ot the compressor, the capacity ot' thecompressor being thereby temporarily augmented lbeyond that whichobtains when the operation of compression has been completed--the lattercapacity being attained by the automatic return to the originalposition, or nearly so, of the part or parts ofthe compressor whoseresistance to outwardor extensible movement 'shall have Vbeentemporarily overcome by the movement lof the lever.

Instead of actuating the signaling objects or bodies by compression ofelastic tluid, it may be done by rarefaction, for which purposeapparatus as above described may be arranged to operate inversely'.

' The compressors, raretiers, and collapsible vessels I,bypreterence,construct mainly ot'ljexible material. such as sheet indiarubber, and in order to guard against failure through leakthat the jointor junction of the inner thickness or layer shall be amply covered,strength' ened, and protected byone or more superposed layers of thesame material.

One sheet ot' liexib'le material may be so wound around-a block orcylindrical object as to cause one part ot' such sheet to overlapanother, and so to form the several layers Without breakage of thecontinuity ot' the manecessary for indicating at any requiredplace whenthe signaling objectA has resumed or occupies the danger position: AU-shaped liquid-gage, or other pressure-gage, placed in thesituation atwhich the indications are required, is connected, by a pipe, tube, orpassage, with a Valve-chamber xed to the collapsible or vexpandin g andcontracting vessel, constituting the means ot' actuating by changes offluid-pressure the signaling object or body.' A passage is formedbetween the valve-chamber and the interior of the collapsible vessel,the orifice ot' which passage is provided with a valve pressed againstits seat by a spring or weight. y

When the collapsible vessel is expanded, thesignalingobject being in thesafety77 position, the valve will be closed; but when the collapsiblevessel is collapsed, the valve will be moved from its seat, thusestablishing communication between theinterior of the collapsible vesseland the gage, and by the change of pressure eecting the requiredindication. In juxtaposition to the abovenamed gage `I arrange a secondgage, which I place in communication with the interior of the compressoror air-pump, whereby the changes ot' pressure are et't'ected, so thatthe showing of different pressures by the two gages shall indicate thatthe collapsible vessel has not returned to the danger position.

Thetwo gages must show the same pressure `when the collapsible fvesselhas opened the valve by returning to the danger position,

and has thus established free communication .ing furnished with abalanced valve-lidfor closure arranged to be fastened in its closedposition by means of a locking or holding' arrangement operatedby'electricity from the place whence it i's requred'to govern the-movingof the signaling object into the safety7 orpasson7 position. f l

The locking arrangement may be in the form of a catch, or the armature.of an electro-magnetmay be connected to the valve-lid or closure, andso-be made to serve for holding it in' the closed position whenrequired.

By this arrangement, assuming the -lever whereby the compressing orrarefying apparatus (as the case may be) is worked, or by whichcommunication is, when required, established between the collapsiblevessel and a reservoir of compressed elastic iluid or a vessel in whichapartial vacuum is maintained,- to be moved into the position for takingolf a signal, or, in other words, into the proper position for movingthe signaling object or body into the safety or pass-on position, suchmovement of the said lever will exercise no i'niinence upon thesignaling object or body unless the valve or closure has been previouslylocked'or fastened in its closed position, because, by reason ofthelarrangement of' the apparatus, so long as the 'valve or closurerelnains unlocked the pressure within the elasticiiuid-containingapparatus cannot be made to differ sensibly from the normal pressure ofthe'eXtern al atmosphere, and while that pressure prevails withintheapparatus the signaling object or body must of necessity be in the ldanger position. f

It will be evident that this part of my ini vention may be so applied asto make the concurrence of any desired number of persons stationed atdifferent places an essential preliminarygto` the moving of a signalinto the safety position.

The valve-lid or closurel and locking or holding arrangement may beinclosed in a suitable casing arralngedV to admit ofthe circulation ofelastic lluid,'but `so as to preclude tampering with the apparatus.

When I in this specification use the words Y. signaling object or body Idesire it to be understood that I mean those words to include also anysingle set of signaling objects or bodies-as, for example, a semaphorearm with its lenses operating in conjunction lwith a lamp or otherwell-known appliances for signalingon railways.

,fulcrum is at il.

Figure lis a longitudinal vertical sectional l elevation of apparatusembodying my iniproveinents; and Fig. 2 is a'horizontal section, showingthe mode of constructing the yiiexible portions of the collapsiblevessels.

a isthe lever for actuating the signals. -Ils arm a carries a rod, b,which enters a tube, c. rlhis tube is open at its lower end, which isfastened to the lower end of the compressor,

into which the tube projects, the upper end of the tube being closed, asshown, with the excep'tion of a small hole to admit air for the purposehereinafter mentioned. The upper end-of the rod b serves as a valve toclose the small hole. The central portion of the compressor consists, inthe present instance, of a lixed flanged metal ri'ng, d, having anopening through it, and communicating by va pipe, e, withthe collapsiblevessel f, by Whose motions the semaphore-arm is actuated. The lateral 1portions of the upper part-d1 and lower part d2 ofthe compressor areformed of flexible material, such as sheet india-rubber fastened by theordinary cement, but wrapped round iu the novel manner shown in Fig. 2,rigid rings d3 being introduced at suitable intervals, as wellunderstood, to insure the collapsing of the compressor as required., Theends or covers d4 d5 are made heavy. The upper cover d4 carries a coupleofrods, 151, workin g in guidetubes d6, carried by a plate orcross-piece, dl, resting upon an internal ledge of the central portionor ring d. Ihe plate or cross-piece d7 also carries acentral tube, d8,for. guiding the tube c. The collapsible vessel f is made of iieXiblematerial, in the same way as, and with rings rsimilar to, thecompressor, and is suspended from a bracket attached to the signalpost,a part of which bracket forms the upper end of the collapsible vessel,whose lower end may consist of a metal plate, as shown. Io the lower endof the collapsible vessel is secured aY frame, g, connected by a forkedrod, h, to the longer arm i of the semaphore, whose The shorter arm ofthe semaphore carries a danger-lens, 112, and a safetylens, i?. Y Thedrawing shows the positions of the parts when the signal is at danger Ifthe lever a be now moved over in the direction indicated by the arrow,the lower portion d2 of the compressor will be collapsed. The

air within it, heilig' compressed, will cause the upper portion d1 tosuddenly expand 5 but the weight of the end or cover d4 and itsattachments will cause the upper portion d1 to move back towardits-original position.

compressed by the downward movement of the end or cover d4, will expandthe collapsible vessel f, thereby drawing down the longer arm i ofthesemaphore into the position indi- 'Ihe i air within the vcompressor andtube e, being l eating that a train may proceed. On then moving thelever a back into the position shown in the drawing, the rod b will becaused to move partly outot1 the tube c, the movement ofthe lever beingmore rapid than that ofthe lower end of' the compressor, which, however,will gradually follow(expedited by air entering through the small holein the end ot' the tube c) until it has resumed the position shown, and,by restoring the pressure within the compressor and pipe cto the normalor external atmospheric pressure, will have caused the partial collapseof the vessel j' into the position shown in the drawing, thus restoringthe signal to the danger position. It will be evident that, instead ofthe small hole in the end of thetube c, a suitable valve may be arrangedeither on the top or bottom ot' the compressor, or upon the air-pipeleading to the collapsible vessel f, which valve shall act automaticallyby the partial vacuum formed in the compressor, or may be so arranged asto open and close, as required, by the action of the compressor itself.l

When the apparatus is to actuate the signal by rare'action I connect thearm a ot` the lever a to the upper end d, and for the tube cin the lowerpart d2 I substitute a simple guide-rod. I invert the collapsible`"essel f, with its valve-chamber and valve, and connect what thenbecomes the upper end of the vessel f'to the arm i. By Athisarrangement, assuming the lever a to be moved over so as to expand ormove up the upper portion of the raretier, the lower portion will, bythe pressure ot' the external air, be temporarily collapsed, but willautomatically resume its normal position, or a position approximatingthereto, almost immediately, thereby completing the rarefaction oftheelastic duid, and, by causing the collapse or partial collapse ofthevessel f, drawing down the signal-arm i.

k is a liquid pressure-gage placed in the situation at which theindications are required, and connected by a pipe, l, with avalve'chamber, m, containing a valve, a, kept by a spring, o, over andagainst a seat around an orifice leading into the collapsible vessel f.p is a rod tixed to the lower end of the vessel f, which rod, when thevessel is in its collapsed or partially-collapsed position, raises thevalve n from its seat, as shown, thus establishing communication betweenthe interior of the collapsible vessel and the gage 7c. q is a secondgage, communicating with the interior of the compressor through a pipe,r. t Should the collapsible vessel not at the proper time return to thedanger position the fact will be indicated by the dil'erence between thetwo gages.

e is an escapeopening, furnished with a valve, s, carried by a lever, t,having its fulcrum at t1, and carrying' an adjustable weight at t2,which all but counterbalauces the valve s. u is the armaturel ot` anelectro-magnet, u1, arranged in the same circuit, a2, as the ordinarytelegraphic indicator w, so that the same operation which changes theposition of the indicator-pointer will also positively control the valves, and, consequently, the moving ofthe signal into the safety or pass-onposition. The telegraph-indicator will show the man in charge of thelever a when he may move over that lever to draw the signal down intothat position.

The drawing assumes the electric current for the time being passingthrough the electroniagnet to be such as to attract the armature, thusholding the valve in its closed position, so that should the lever a bemoved over the air in the compressor-pipe e and vessel l f will becompressed, so as to bring' down the signal. Assuming that the apparatusat the controlling-station be operated so as to reverse the current, thearmature u will be released, so that the slightest increase ot' pressurein the pipe e will raise the valve s and permit the escape ot' fluidfrom the pipe c, thus rendering it impossible to draw down the signal bymoving over the lever a. A stop is provided to prevent the lever beingtilted too far.

It will be evident that the arrangements shown in the drawing may bemodified to suit circumstances.

To meet cases where the signal is drawn down by raretying the air in thepipe e, I invert the opening e. I form around the aperture an internalseat for the valve s, which I arrange above the lever t, to which leverI connect the valve by a stem or equivalent means.

It will be evident that in this arrangement, when the armature is free,if the pressure in the pipe e be reduced in the slightest degree belowthat of the external atmosphere, the valve s will at once rise from itsseat in the pipe, thus admitting Aair and maintaining in the pipe e andvessel f the normal pressure at which the signal is invariably in thedanger position. 1

I claim- 1. In a pneumatic signaling apparatus for railways, thecombination, with a hand-lever or handle, a pipe, tube, or passagecharged with elastic fluid, and a collapsible vessel connected to thesignaling object, of a compressor so constructed that, as one portionot' the compressor is collapsed by moving the lever or handle to movethe signal, another portion shall temporarily expand to receive thedisplaced fluid, and afterward complete the compression ot' tluid, andmove the signal by automatically resuming its original position, or aposition approximating thereto.

2. In a pneumatic signaling apparatus for railways, the combination,with a hand-lever or handle, a pipe, tube, or passage charged withelastic fluid, and a collapsible vessel connected to the signalingobject, of a raretier so constructed and connected to the lever that, asone portion of the rareiier is expanded or drawn out by the movement ofthe lever or handle to move the signal, another portion shalltemporarily collapse to partially occupy thc space vacated by thedisplaced fluid, and afterward complete the raret'action ot-l fluid andmove the signal, as required, by automatically' resuming` its originalposition,or a position approXiniating` thereto.

3. In pneumatic signaling apparatus for railways, the combination, witha collapsible Vessel or chamber connected to the signaling object, apipe, tube, or passage charged with elastic fluid, and appara-tus forchanging the pressure or density ot' said Huid, of tWo gages orindicators in juxtaposition, one connected by a pipe, tube, or passage,l, with a chamber, m,

communicating with the interior of the collaps` ible vessel or chamberby afhole or passage governed by a valve, n, operated by a rod orprojection, p, and the other gage or indicator, communicating, through apipe, tube, or passage. r, with the compressor or rareer, so as, by therelative indications of the two gages, to show the position of thecollapsible vessel that operates the signal.

ure, in conjunction with a locking or holding device operated byelectricity from the point l or station whence the moving of thesignaling object is governed.

5. The combination of the tube e, attached to one end of a collapsiblevessel, and having a small perforation in its upper end, with the rod b,attached to the lever-arm a', `and forming an'air-valve with said tube,as set forth.

' 6. The compressor, consisting of the collapsibleparts dl and d2,united by a central rigid flanged ring, d, and provided with guide-rodsor their equivalents, e and e151, Working in tubes d and d6, carried bya plate or cross-piece, 17, as hereinbefore described and illustrated,for the purpose specified.

7. In combination with a compressor constructed as shown, the pipee,.with its opening e', valve s, lever t, Weight t2,"armature u, andelectro-magnet ul, said pipe communicating With the collapsible vesself,connected to 'the semaphore-arm t', as described and shown, for

the purpose specified.

AUSTIN onAMBEas.

Witnesses:

H. S. WILEs, y Clerk to Mr. Lloyd Wise,

Patent Agent, London. E. KrNGooMBE, Clerk to MessraDa/vd Burwash d? Son,

Public Notaries, 69 King William St.,

London.

